Medieval Times Special

The Baltimore/Washington D.C. Medieval Times is offering a special where everyone gets in at just $30. This can be a serious savings as a normal adult admission can be something like $50 each. There are some restrictions. First, it can't be combined with any other offers. Second, it has to be booked on-line. From what I remember, any booking you make on-line is nonrefundable so make sure you are going to go before you book it. Third, you must enter promotion code 30EB59 when making the booking. Fourth, the promotion is only good at the Baltimore/Washington castle. Last, the offer end July 5, 2009. Medieval Times is a fun place to take the family. It offers jousting, sword fighting, knights, a beautiful Princess and a nice story. To be in the spirit of things, all food is eaten with your hands or slurped in the case of the soup. Kids tend to really enjoy that part. Parents, they do provide lots of knapkins and a hot towel after the meal. Disclaimer: I don't work at any Medieval Times castle or its headquarters. Readers should take all responsiblity for any problems with the booking and should double check the Medieval Times website to make absolutely certain I have the facts right before committing their money. This blog is provided as possible benefit to any readers I may have. I've got to the shows at Medieval Times, enjoyed them and I did work for them for a year and 3 months. Cheers all!

Here is the photo I promised earlier. Normally, I wouldn't buy the group photo as I consider it a rip-off but, I thought it so cool all of us being in Medieval/Renaissance costume that I had to buy the photo. It'll remain a cherished memory for some time.

New Show

Yesterday, I got to see the new show at Medieval Times in Arundel Mills Mall. I found the show nice. They did change the story line though they kept various bit from the previous show. King Phillip holds a tournament to honor the new peace between his kingdom and the Kingdom of Leon. So, you have knights jousting, spearing rings and throwing spears as before. Also, you get to see displays of fancy riding and a display of falconry.

Food wise, the menu hasn't changed. It's still all finger food barring your soup which you slurp. They served tomato vegetable so I had to use my fingers to scoop out the remaining veggies. They do give you a hot towel and plenty of knapkins to clean up with.

Service wise, barring getting a mug of ice tea poured into my lap, serving serf Matthew did a fine job. I made sure I tipped him as serving staff are the lowest paid people at the castle. It's expected that tips will make up for the low pay. Sometimes, it does and sometimes it doesn't.

Overall, I had a nice time and I was glad I went to see the new show. If you haven't seen it, you might want to check it out. You don't have to rush right out to see the new show as it will be playing for the next 4 years or so, you'll have plenty of time to catch it.

Side note: I bought the group photo that the castle takes of you when you arrive there. I know it's a bit of rip-off ($20) but, I wanted a memento of our group as we were wearing Medieval and Renaissance garments. I plan to post a copy of the picture on this blog later. I think it's pretty neat.

Giving Notice

To my surprise, an event happened at Medieval Times that caused me to give them my two weeks notice. I've very much enjoyed working there and even foregone greater money at the Post Office in order to work there. What happened was that I was punished for helping another section in the castle. Here is my version of what happened.

This past Thursday morning, I was working post 1 as a castle guard. We had a matinee show which means we have bus loads of kids who attend the show. The primary person for directing the kids to line up and where to enter the castle is the Prince (the King's brother) though the position is also called the ambassador. The Prince was busy outside the Arundel Mills Mall watching for buses arriving. When they arrived, he would tell them where to go inside the mall. There wasn't anyone by the castle entrance to direct them in. I decided to step up and direct them through the castle entrance. All went well except for one case where 3 students decided to leave the castle without permission from their chaperones. One of my duties as castle guard incredibly is to make sure no students leave without their chaperones (I was told this afterwards.).

When I went back to the Sound and Lighting booth, the head castle guard told me there were two complaints about me doing my job at Post 1. Because of that, he decided that I would no longer be assigned to Post 1. Instead, he would permanently assign me to Post 2. He understood that I was trying to help but it wasn't my job to direct students into the castle. He also admonished me for letting 3 students leave the castle. I thought it was ridiculous that I should be punished for helping out the folks at the check-in desk and said so. I apologized for letting the 3 students leave. I wasn't sure what the rules were on that at the time.

During the show, I considered my options. There were only two. I could accept the punishment or I could leave. Considering that the job was not crucial to me money or job wise, I could afford to leave. Also, there wasn't any real future for me at the castle. The main reason I was still working at the castle was because I really enjoyed it. I really liked playing castle guard and interacting with the customers. There are few jobs where you can make believe and get paid for it at the same time. Medieval Times is one of those few places. Finally, I made my decision. I was going to give notice.

One bad thing about giving notice is that you still have to work those last 2 weeks. For me, this is going to be the pits. I would like to leave now but I won't do that as it would leave my boss in a real bind. I also have to work post 2 even though I hate working that post and it was my being moved there permanently that caused me to give notice. The only alternative to not working post 2 is to walk out which I won't do. To make matters worse, word has gotten out that I'm leaving. I was already down about leaving when Dave, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, came up and asked me what was up with me leaving. I wanted to leave quietly and that was clearly shot to all heck. God only knows what rumors are going around the castle. The castle can be terrible in that way.

While it saddens to leave Medieval Times, there will be some good things to come out of my departure. I'll have the time to take college classes again. I'm only 4 classes away from getting my Bachelor's degree. Also, when the Maryland Renaissance Festival opens in late August, I'll be able to go without having to take time off from my job. I'm hoping the festival gets the group Medieval Baebes back. I really wanted to see them last year but had to work both days they performed at the festival. Lastly, I'll be able to make more money. Thankfully, I didn't burn any bridges with the supervisors who direct the city carriers. I checked and I should be able to get at least 24 hours a week with them. While delivering the mail won't be as much fun as working at Medieval Times, it pays double what I'm getting at the castle. The extra bucks will help, especially if I have to pay the out-of-state rate at the University of Maryland. We'll see what works out.

My Routine at Medieval Times Part II

Once I've hung up my guard tunic, stowed my fake chainmail hood and put away any weapons I took to do guard duty, I head to my spotlight tower. There are four spotlight towers in the show arena, one for each corner of the arena. The towers are approximately 15 feet up. You climb a metal ladder into your tower. Once you're in your tower, you step from the ladder to the tower platform. You have to be careful at this point as a mis-step could result in a nasty fall. Once you're on the platform, you lower a metal plate over the opening so the platform is completely closed. Then, you get things organized on the platform for the show.

The first thing you do is turn on your spotlight. There is a power switch on the side of the spotlight which you flick then, you press an ignitor button right next to it. The spotlight will slowly come on. The second thing you do is don your headsets. The headsets help all the spotlight operators communicate with each other. Once the operator has donned their headsets, they'll check in by saying their name and the spotlight their on. Another important aspect of the headsets is that they enable the operators to hear the person calling the cues. There are certain times when specific spotlights have to be on specific knights or acts. The cues are the points when the operators has to open the shutter on their spotlight to highlight the knight or act or when the operator needs to close the shutter on the spotlight. The last thing the spotlight operator will do is set a chair for themselves. There are set points in the show where the spotlight operators stand down. The chairs give them something to sit on while they wait for the next cue.

If all goes according to plan, the show will last 2 hours or less. Once the show is over, all the spotlight operators turn off their spotlights and put their headsets back on the bar where they were before. At this point, I may end up doing one of three things. I may go to wardrobe to collect all the headsets that were used by the showcast. I may go back to the sound and lighting booth, don my castle guard costume and go to the dungeon to collect passes from those wanting to enter the dungeon. Or, I may take out the trash from the booth if the trash can is filled up. Once I've completed any of these tasks, I'll head back to the changing room. There, I'll change into my regular clothes. After I'm dressed, I drop off my costume at wardrobe. They'll launder the fake chainmail shirt, hood and hose. The Sound and Lighting booth is my last stop before I clock out. I drop off my boots there. By storing them there, I don't have to keep them in my car and I don't have to worry about forgetting to bring them to the castle. While at the booth, I may double check the schedule to see when I have to work at the castle again. Once I'm all finished at the booth, I clock out and head home.

That gives you an idea of what my days are like Medieval Times. It's fun working there. It's one of the few places where you can get paid for playing castle guard and using a fake English accent. It can also be a pleasure dealing with the customers. A lot of the folks that come to the castle are pretty nice. It's neat to see the small kids dressed up as knights or princesses. Sometimes, we'll get adults dressed up in Medieval or Renaissance garb. That can be pretty cool too. Cheers all!

Auction

One of the employee incentive programs Medieval Times has is a program called Medieval Dollars. Medieval Dollars are fake money that the castle awards to its employees for any number of things. It can be awarded for meeting your sales quota in gift shop or the photo department. It can be awarded for perfect timeliness. Basically, it is awarded for doing something beyond the norm. It encourages employees to give that extra effort.

Now, you ask what good are Medieval Dollars? That is where the bi-annual auctions come in. The auctions are where those who have earned Medieval Dollars get to use them to bid on various items the management has bought for the auction. Example: I bid and won on 4 tickets to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. For me, this was a really nice reward for giving that extra effort as it was something I really wanted to do. Others won an Xbox, a food processor, a 158 piece tool kit, gift certificates to Damon's Sports Bar and to one of the Texas Roadhouse restaurants. There were some nice prizes to be won.

Overall, I think the Medieval Dollars program is a great employee incentive program. It definitely rewards and encourages its employees to take their work up another notch. I know I will because of the program. It also makes me glad to have sacrificed some bucks so I could work at the castle. I can make a lot more money carrying mail for the Post Office vice working at the castle. The prizes I won at the auction made me glad I decided work at the castle vice making the bigger bucks at the Post Office.

My Routine at Medieval Times Part I

I thought my readers might find it interesting to find out what my routine is when I work at Medieval Times. This is what it is like for someone working in Sound and Lighting there.

When I first arrive, I clock in with a scanner that has a picture of two of my fingers. This way, the castle can make sure the person that is clocking in is the person they say they are. Then, I make my way to the Sound and Lighting booth. I store my Dehner full length English riding boots in there because they are so valuable. They cost me over $930. The castle didn't supply me with the boots. I bought them earlier when I was riding at Aspiring Heights Farm (http://www.aspiringheightsfarm.com). The castle supplies those who play castle guards a fake chain mail shirt, a fake chain mail hood, a pair of black hose, a cover tunic, a black belt to cinch around the cover tunic, and weapons. The employee is expected to supply their own black tennis shoes which they are supposed to wear with the costume. I don't think Medieval castle guards wore black tennis shoes back in Medieval days so I asked and received permission to wear my riding boots.

Once I have my boots, I head to wardrobe. Wardrobe has all the costumes for everyone who works at the castle. They're responsible for washing them and repairing them. After I pick up all my costume items barring weapons and gauntlets, I go to the men's locker room where I change and lock up my regular clothes.

I'm not finished getting costumed if you will. I have to head back to the booth where I get my big black leather belt (a dyed weight lighting belt with various studs added for decoration) and decide what weapon I want to carry on it. I usually pick out a sword as I think it's pretty neat to carry one. Then, I cinch the belt and smooth out my cover tunic so it looks smooth. After that, I put on a black ski cap. Why would I wear a black ski cap? Because it cushions really well the metal helmet I have to wear. The ski cap does get a little warm but it's warm it considering how well it paddens the helmet. Next, I put on my black leather gauntlets. Like my boots, I bought my own gauntlets. I thought they'd enhance my costume. I got approval from the higher ups (all changes to costume must be approved by them) and have worn them since. Lastly, I select which halberd I want to use to guard the entrance to the castle. The only difference between the two we have is one is shiny and one isn't.

I'm finally all set to play castle guard. Now, I have to wait till it's time for me and the others to go out to the castle waiting area to our posts. We take our posts 2 and 1/2 hours before show time. My favorite post is post 1. This is the entrance closest to the ticket booth. It is also the side that people line up on when preparing to check-in at the check-in desk between the two fake stone lions. Working post 1 is a bit of a challenge as I have to answer a number of questions concerning ticketing and reservations. I also have to make sure that only those who have a seating card (they get one of those when they check-in) are allowed in. Lastly, I get asked a lot to pose for pictures. I confess I enjoy this part as I find it fun. I'm always willing to have my picture taken by myself or with guests.

I remain at post 1 till the herald's trumpets sound and the Lord Chancellor makes the call to table. The call to table is where people are directed to the appropriate doors for their color section (there are 6 colors with each color corresponding to a particular knight). Once they enter the appropriate double doors, serving serfs and wenches direct them to their assigned table. Before the people are allowed into the arena and to their table, all of those doing guard duty and working the dungeon go back to the Sound and Lighting booth. There, we put our weapons away and change from our costumes into clothes that are entirely black so we can't be seen when we're working the spotlights in one of the spotlight towers.

To be continued.

Matinee Show

I worked a matinee show at Medieval Times yesterday. The matinee show is different from the regular show. It is a show tailored for school groups. The first 30 minutes of the show is an entertaining lesson on life during the Medieval Age. Princess Esperanza talks about the clothes women would wear and how marriages were arranged during that time. King Alphonso tells how a man could become a knight, how a coat of arms works and what a man would wear during that age. The King of Arms demonstrates some of the weapons of the time and talks about the armor a knight would wear. The Lord Falconer demonstrates falconry by by giving a demonstration of lure flying.The Lord Chancellor opens the instruction and helps things run smoothly between King and Princess and those in the arena where the weapons demonstrations and falconry take place. It is a very interesting and effective way to teach students in grade school, middle school and high school about the period.

After the instruction on the age, the show reverts back to a normal show with a couple exceptions. In order to make up for the time lost to the instruction on the age, two parts are cut out of the show. The Master of Horse doesn't do his demonstration of maneuvers done on horse and the Guards Quadria don't do their demonstration of precision horsemanship. Nothing is lost by cutting out the two parts. The show retains its suspense of who will become the new King's Champion as well as the romantic story of Princess Esperanza being in love with one of the knights.

Overall, the show is a very effective way to teach students about the age while enabling them to have some fun and enjoy some good food. It is very popular with school groups for these reasons. I personally think it is a neat way to teach about the age. I also enjoy working the show as it breaks up the monotony of working at the castle. I'd definitely recommend it to any school groups out there who want their students to learn something of the age. Cheers!

Changes at the Castle

I've been surprised recently by a number of changes at the Medieval Times I work at. I found out yesterday that the Reservations Manager had left a month ago. I found out so late because it seems those of us who work in Sound & Lighting are out of the loop as far as what is going on the castle. In regards to the Reservations Manager, I was sorry to see her go. She was always very kind to me while I was working in security. Sadly, I didn't see much of her after I moved to Sound & Lighting. I wish her the best at her new job with Holiday Day Inn.

I was also surprised to find out our Operations Manager had moved to the castle in New Jersey. I suspect this is so he can be closer to family up there. I was sorry to hear he'd left. I found he could be very kind. I remember having a hard day at the castle. He could see it'd been rough. He came up to me and told to me to take a break so I could recover. He was also very kind during my gall bladder surgery. Conversely, if he got a hair up his butt, he was someone to avoid. I found that part annoying. Overall, I'm sorry to see him go. He was very kind to me. He was instrumental in helping me get free tickets for some friends using my birthday voucher. I wish him the best of luck at the New Jersey castle.

One nice bit of news concerned a former co-worker in security. He's been working in security for over 3 years. He dreamed of getting the Lord Chancellor or King part. This year, he vowed to get one of the two parts. Just three weeks ago, he was selected for both parts. One of the people playing the King gave notice and then the main person playing the Lord Chancellor got fired. He's now scrambling to learn all the lines for the Lord Chancellor part. In my opinion, it's the hardest in the show. I wish him the best of luck with it.

Another delightful bit of news was a co-worker in Sound & Lighting getting selected for squire with the prospect of him becoming a knight in 2 years. He's a super nice guy and it's nice to see him get it. It's also nice to see the castle promote from within. Both, my former co-worker in security and my co-worker in Sound & Lighting paid their dues. It's great to see them move up to bigger and better things at the castle.

One last departure of sorts was a move from Sound & Lighting to Reservations. One of my co-workers decided to move to reservations as it would give her more hours and greater flexibility. She's a nice lady and I always enjoyed chatting with her. Today was her last day in Sound & Lighting. I'm saddened to see her move to reservations.

Later this week, I'll get to meet a new hire in Sound & Lighting. All I know about him is his name. As far as I know, he is a totally new hire i.e. not someone moving from another department at the castle. This week, he'll be busy learning how to operate the spotlight and the cues we use during the show. It shouldn't take that long for him to get up to speed.

That's all the news at the castle. I may get to work Thursday's matinee show this week. It would be my first matinee show in quite a while. I've told the Post Office I won't be working the city side Tuesday through Thursday. I've gotten a bit burned out at the Post Office and I don't want to see the place for a few days. Conversely, my job at Medieval Times continues to be fun. Unlike the Post Office, they don't treat me like a slave there. Hopefully, I'll get to work the matinee show. We'll see. Cheers all!

Stories from The Tower

Yesterday, I got to work as the Dungeon Master at Medieval Times. What the Dungeon Master does is answer questions about the dungeon (museum of torture) and make sure people pay to get in to see the dungeon i.e. collect their dungeon passes which cost $2 each. One unique thing I bring to the job as Dungeon Master is I have some knowledge about the various tortures in the dungeon (no, I've never actually used anything like them, I'm not into it that much!). I can also tell folks stories I learned from the Yeoman Warders at the infamous Tower of London.

The Tower of London has serviced as a royal fortress, observatory, treasury and most infamously as a prison for high ranking prisoners. It is as a prison that it is most famous though it also houses the crown jewels.

The Yeoman Warders are a special unit of retired British military personnel who guard the Tower and the crown jewels. They also take part in special ceremonies involving their sovereign from time to time. They are also known as "Beefeaters." They received that title possibly because at time, one of the things they received for doing the job was a large ration of beef (source: wikipedia). One of the things the Yeoman Warders also do at the Tower is give free tours every half hour. The Yeoman Warders give the visitors a choice of a dull boring tour or of the terribly bloody gruesome tour. Visitors invariably take the terribly bloody gruesome tour. The Tower has plenty of such stories. Here are few stories I remember hearing from the Warders. However, not all of them are terribly bloody and gruesome.

Duke of Monmouth

The Duke of Monmouth was an illegitimate son of Charles the II who felt he should be king vice Charles brother James I. He raised an uprising in Scotland which was quickly crushed. He was summarily brought down to London, stayed one day in the infamous Tower and then was beheaded. It was only after they beheaded him that they made a terrible discovery. They didn't have a portrait of the Duke. They decided they had to rectify this even though the Duke was dead. What they did (and this is gruesome) is sewed his head back on, put a frilly thing around his neck to hide the stitches and painted his picture. It is hardly surprising that the Duke looks very grim in his portrait.

Ravens of the Tower

It is said that if the ravens of the Tower of London ever leave that the Tower and the monarchy will crumble and fall. The British, not wishing to take any chances, had the wings of the ravens who live at the Tower clipped so they can't fly away. Because of this and the excellent care the ravens receive (they have a special Yeoman Warder who serves as Ravenmaster and who feeds them beef daily), they live far longer than wild ravens. The normal lifespan of a raven is only 7 or 8 years. One raven at the tower lived to 52 years of age. Now, there is a tradeoff the ravens pay for this posh life. All of you of virgin eyes please don't read this next part. Do you know how ravens have nookie i.e. sex? They do it while in flight. Don't ask me how they do it in flight but they supposedly do. One problem with having their wings clipped is that the poor though well compensated ravens at the Tower of London can get any nookie. It is the sad but necessary (if the Tower and Monarchy are to remain standing) price they pay for the good of the country. However, the birds are well compensated as you can see.

Murdered Princes

The Tower has seen a number of foul or tragic deeds. One of the worst was the murder of two young princes. They were the sons of Edward IV (I think that's the right number, there have been a number of Edwards.). One of them was in fact the king but being king when you're only 9 or 10 years old was very dangerous thing back in those days. Unfortunately for the young princes, Edward's brother decided to take the throne for himself. The princes were placed in the Tower and after a while, no one ever saw them again. No one knew what happened to them though when their uncle had himself crowned as King, they were certainly dead i.e. murdered. Years later, the princes' bodies were found in the Tower. They remain some of the more tragic figures from the history of the Tower.

Queen of Hearts

Wanting to end this blog entry on a nice note, I will know tell you the story of the Queen of Hearts you see in your deck of playing cards. The story goes that Edward IV had only one surviving child who was Elizabeth York. Henry Tudor of the Lancastrian line defeated her uncle who had become Shakespeare's infamous Richard III in the battle of Bosworth Hills. Her uncle was also slain there. Henry subsequently claimed the throne and became Henry VII. In a desire to unite the two royal houses, he married Elizabeth York. In an unusual case, the two actually fell in love after their marriage and were supposedly devoted to one another. Later, Elizabeth died though not before having at least two children Arthur and Henry (of Henry VIII fame or infamy depending on what your thoughts are on what he did with his various wives). In mourning for his beloved wife, Henry ordered that the face of his dead Queen be used as the face of the Queen of Hearts in all decks of playing cards. A memoriam of sorts if you will. So, if the story is true, the person's face you see on the Queen of Hearts is that of a tragic girl who's brothers were murdered but became Queen and found love before she died. A happy ending to a harrowing young life.

And, there'll I end my stories I learned from the famous Yeoman Warders. If you ever visit London, make sure you see the infamous Tower of London and catch their free tours. The Warders are really great and they do tell some fascinating stories about the Tower. Cheers!

Medieval Times

I got to be the executioner today at the Medieval Times castle I work at. It was only the third or fourth time I'd played the executioner. The person who normally plays it (Solomon) is in Florida on vacation. I found it fun and a challenge. It's fun in that you get to play a character that is somewhat sinister. It's a challenge in a number of ways. The executioner is only able to communicate through grunts and mime as he had his tongue cut out (rumor has it for talking too much). The executioner must also be scary but not too scary. You want to give the kids a small fright but not scare them away from the castle. Also, the executioner helps make money for the castle by selling spoof pictures of people having their head chopped off. Today, the photo girl and I sold 8 pictures which was pretty good considering the crowd we had.

I also got to use my first four free tickets to the castle. One of the rewards of working at Medieval Times is getting four free tickets on your birthday and four free tickets on Christmas. I used my birthday tickets and treated a friend who works at the Post Office, her daughter and two of her friends to Medieval Times. I enjoyed getting to treat them to the show and hope they had a fun time. I'll find out when I work at the Post Office Wednesday.

Lastly, I got to battle it out with a Medieval Times co-worker in a trivia competition. We had a competition series of the best out of five. The one who won would become the acknowledged trivia champion between us. Things didn't go well for me initially as I lost the first two matches. The second one was particularly crushing as I lost the match on the second to last question. To my surprise, I came back and won the last three matches. The deciding match was a nerve-wracking affair. I took the lead on points BUT I only had 2 life forces left (you get 5 to start with). The thing that cost me the second match was life forces. I lost my last life force on the second to last question so I was very anxious at only having two. I didn't want a repeat of the second match. Thankfully, two was enough and I won. Someone once said "Victory is sweet." and they weren't kidding. I'm savoring my triumph and plan to have some more fun by reminding my co-worker who the trivia champion is. Considering how cocky she was about her trivia skill, it'll be fun to remind her who won the competition.

Payraise

To my surprise, I found out I received my first payraise from Medieval Times this last paycheck. I saw my latest paycheck was larger than what I expected and I wanted to know why. I found out that my boss Mike Verelli put me in for my first yearly payraise and it was approved. I knew I was approaching my first complete year at the castle and that Medieval Times allegedly awarded yearly payraises. I started working at the Baltimore/Washington castle the end of February of 2006. It's hard to believe I've worked there for almost a year now. Working at the castle was a total break from my previous life in the U.S. Air Force. It was an enormous change. It's a lot more relaxed working there. At the castle, you can grow your hair as long as you want. In the Air Force, if my hair was 1 inch longer than regs specified, I was told to get a haircut. In the castle, I can call the General Manager by his first name. In my last unit, I always called my commander Sir!

I've found it really interesting working at the castle. You're part of a huge team (over 200 people) that works to put on a very complicated show and dinner at least 5 times a week. It takes a lot of teamwork to pull it off. The kitchen staff must have all the necessary plates, bowls and mugs ready for the food servers to use. They must also prepare enough food to serve a 4-course meal to between 150 and 1,000 people. The food servers must put on their costumers and set the proper number of place settings in their assigned areas. Group reservations must tell the people who work the seating assignments how many groups are going to come to the show and how many are in each group. Security must coordinate with the people who hand out seating assignments when they need their equipment set up. Ticketing personnel must be ready to print tickets for customers, confirm reservations and sell tickets to those who decide to see the show on the spur of the moment. Sound and lighting must coordinate with security as to when they'll need castle guards at the main entrances to the castle. Gift shop personnel must make sure that all the shelves are full stocked and they're ready to deal with customers. Bar staff must make sure the bar is full stocked and the beer and soda taps are working. Back in the stables, squires are busy grooming and preparing the horses. Knights are busy practicing various routines and getting their costumes together. The actors and actress who play the King, Princess, Ambassador and Lord Chancellor must put on their costumes and go out to the castle entrance to meet customers. The Lord or Lady Falconer must bring the falcon to the castle, put on their costume and show the falcon to customers as they arrive. Heralds put on their costumes, prepare their instruments, practice the notes they're going to play and go to the front of the castle to help direct customers to either the King or Princess so they can get their picture taken with them. When it's time, the heralds must know when to go into the arena to play their part in the show. Squires must have the right horses ready for the knights to ride. Food servers must be ready to direct people to their tables. Sound & lighting personnel must know which spotlight to go to and what acts they're going to spotlight. The people in the sound & lighting booth must know when to play certain music, activate certain lights and turn on various special effects machines. The King, Princess, Lord Chancellor and Lord Marshall must know where they need to go so they're in their proper place for the show. There is so much that must be done and incredibly, it does get done. When the show is over, food servers will quickly clean up their assigned tables. Squires will put the horses back in their stalls and make sure they have plenty of hay and water. Sound & lighting personnel will turn off the spotlights, amplifiers and put away the microphones. Gift shop personnel will close out their cash registers and turn them into cash control. Security personnel will lock the main gates and turn off all the main lights to the castle. Wardrobe personnel will collect all the costumes and start washing them so they'll be ready for the next show. In effect, the castle will go to sleep for a little while till it's time for it to start ramping up for another show. It's a fascinating process and it's neat to be a part of it.

King Picture

Here is the promised picture of me wearing the King's costume at Medieval Times. As you can tell by the smile on my face, I got a big kick wearing the costume. It was a lot of fun having this picture taken.

Castle Social Event

This past Tuesday night, I went to a social event the Baltimore Medieval Times castle had for its employees. The castle management holds various social events during the year. This gives a chance for employees to socialize and is a way for the castle to pay its employees back for their hard work. Some of these events are very casual while others are more formal. The Tuesday event was more formal in that it was a dress up occasion. Men were expected to wear suits and ties or tuxedos and women were expected to wear gowns. The event was held at the Fountaine Bleu in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The Fountaine Blue is part of a chain of halls that cater for special events such as ours. They provided a full buffet, bar and DJ.

The event started at 7 p.m. Castle employees had to have an invitation which they presented to Jessica (retail manager) who made sure they were on the list of castle employees. After that, the employees were welcome to find a table, set their coats down, get a drink at the bar and make themselves a salad or have a bowl of Maryland crab soup. At 8 p.m., the main course buffet was opened. It featured ham, chicken breast in some kind of white sauce and beef stroganoff with potatoes and green beans. I found the chicken breast to be particularly good.

Around 9:30 p.m., the DJ started warming up the dance floor. This was a particularly amusing aspect of the night as the castle has some real dance animals among its members. A person who works in gift shop by the name of Alvarado particularly distinguished himself by giving John Travolta a run for his money. Also, our own operations manager was hilarious as he did some slick moves on the dance floor. For yours truly, I was content to watch the action but, our HR and promotions ladies weren't going to let me get away without dancing. They summarily got me out on the dance floor and kept me there for at least 10 minutes. It was the first time I'd danced in over 10 years. To say the least, I was very nervous. I managed not to embarrass myself too badly with my two left feet. Later, I did a nice slow dance with a girl who works in Sound & Lighting occasionally.

Overall, I thought the event was really nice. Castle management picked a nice place to hold it and the Fountaine Bleu folks did their best so castle employees really enjoyed themselves. The food was excellent as was the service. The DJ played a good mix of music and helped people loosen up. I think everyone had a nice time. I'm not sure what the next social event will be though whatever it is, I definitely plan to attend it. It was fun mingling with my fellow employees a the castle.

Employee of the Month

It's official. I won employee of the month at the Baltimore/Washington D.C. Medieval Times. I was surprised and delighted. It is really neat winning the award. It isn't some token award as I believe the winner gets a $100 bonus for the month they win it which is pretty cool. I also get to do something of a gag photo they put up on the employee awards bulletin board. In my case, today I had my photo taken wearing the King's costume. By all accounts, I looked pretty good in it. Hopefully, I can get a copy of the photo so I can scan it and post it on this blog. We'll see on that. As it is, I'm pretty chuffed about winning the award and I'm grateful to my supervisor Mike for putting me in for it. He's a fantastic boss and it was really nice of him to do that. Now, I know why he was asking all kinds of strange questions about three weeks ago. It was for the award write-up. One last comment about the award: to my embarrassment, the first time I put on the King's shirt, I put it on backwards. It reminded me of the first time I dressed for castle guard. The first time I put on the castle guard cloak/over tunic, I put it on backwards too. It was kind of funny and I'm sure the lady from wardrobe had a good laugh about it. It was also pretty neat wearing the costume. As they say, it is good to be the King (or in this case fun).

Executioner

I got to play the executioner at Medieval Times for the first time this past Friday. It is the most challenging role I've had so far at Medieval Times. For starters, the executioner isn't allowed to talk. He can only make various grunts as well as use various body movements to make himself understood. The executioner is supposed to be sinister and scary. You only get to see the executioner's eyes and they must instill a slight tingle of fear when they look at the customer. The executioner also makes money for the castle. The castle has a set of fake stocks where people put their head and hands in and the executioner brings down his mighty ax so it looks like they're having their head chopped off. The photos are a neat spoof photo. A number of kids and adults find it fun to get the photo taken. They cost $10 each. The executioner is supposed to help drum up business in that way.

I found the job challenging. I constantly mingled with the customers and sought to put a little fear in the kids. In some cases, it didn't work. I had one cute little girl come up and hug me. Some boys who came for the show gave me high 5's. Still, the kids for the most part seemed to enjoy what I did. I only scared two kids badly which I regretted. My main aim was to make their visit more enjoyable. I want them to come back for another visit. I'd also really like it if they would mention that I helped make their visit more enjoyable on the comment cards which are left by the food servers at the end of the meal. Photo wise, I helped sell seven photos which I thought good for the size crowd we had. The bosses should be pleased about that.

Improvement wise, I need to be more careful about how I handle the ax. It isn't at all sharp but it is BIG and it is conceivable that I could accidentally hit someone with it. I also need to further develop my version of the character. Every person who plays the executioner plays it differently. Each person has to come up with their own unique version as this is the one they'll be comfortable with and most easily play.

I don't know when I'll get to play executioner again. Hopefully, I'll get another go at it sometime soon. I look forward to it as it is a fun and challenging role. It also gives me another chance to do what I can to make the customer's visit an enjoyable experience. That is my ultimate objective. If I do that, I'll be doing my bit in promoting Medieval Times dinner and show.

Spotlight Solo

Yesterday, I got to operate spotlight #4 at Medieval Times by myself for the first time. I was surprised when I found out I'd operate a spotlight by myself so soon. Still, I felt confident I could do it. As I'm somewhat hyper, I had to take a number of deep breaths to relax as I was quite nervous doing my first solo operating the spotlight. Operating one isn't super hard but, you do need to concentrate totally on what you're doing. One problem I had with my concentration was I was tired. I'd trained at the Post Office yesterday on rural route 6 for seven hours and then drove to Medieval Times two hours later. To make matters worse, they had someone doing a refresher as far as calling the cues. Whoever he was, he missed a few of them which left me trying to figure out what I was suppose to do. I also had to be careful not to accidentally open the shutter. Two or three times, I did that to my frustration. Overall, I thought I did all right for my first solo. Still, I know I could do better and plan to. Hopefully, I'll get to operate one of the spotlights next Wednesday or Thursday. We'll see.

Medieval Times Update

I got to work security and sound and lighting yesterday. There is no question which I enjoy more. Sound and Lighting is a lot more fun though I get fewer hours with them. Considering that I'll have three days a week with the Post Office, that won't be a problem. I got one surprise when I found out that supposedly, my boss isn't getting any new applications for security. The problem may be the pay. People with previous security experience supposedly see the pay, laugh and walk away. I think the pay is another issue in another way. While I was waiting in line at the Taco Bell Express, I noticed a sign saying help wanted, can start immediately. The quoted starting wage was $7.50 an hour. While I have no wish to work at Taco Bell Express, that is .50 more an hour than what I make at security at Medieval Times. I doubt others will be so picky. To make matters worse, I suspect the hours you'd get there are more secure. The last two weeks, we've had shows that were cancelled. I was released early or told not to come in at all. Because of that, I lost hours. Because of the lack of applicants, I'll be doing double duty at Medieval Times. I'll cover the Dungeon initially then, provide security at one of the posts at the entrance to Medieval Times till the gift shop opens then, revert back to my job in sound and lighting by working one of the spotlights.

Working one of the spotlights in pretty challenging, you have to know where to open the spotlight shutter, continuously adjust the the size of the light as the person you're covering moves around the arena and listen for the command to fade out the light. You also have to watch where you're at in the spotlight booth. The booth is at least 10 feet above the audience and the front of it wide open so the spotlight can have a clear shot on the various actors in the arena. You must stay aware of where you are in the booth. If you're not careful, you could fall out of the booth and come down on one of the tables or one of the customers. Another challenge is changing quickly back into costume. When the show is done, I had to hustle down the ladder from the spotlight booth, dash over to the sound and lighting booth, quickly take off my black long sleeve shirt (Sound and Lighting people must wear all black clothes during the show so we fade into the black ceiling.), put back on my fake chain mail hood, put back on my red overgarment (I don't know what else to call it.), put back on the belt with my axe (The axe is both cool in that it is neat to carry it and annoying as I keep jabbing myself with it. Thank God it isn't sharp!), and rush back to the Dungeon to collect tickets.

I've found covering The Dungeon fun as I get to joke with the customers. I tell them that the ticket guarantees they'll get in but they're on their on getting out. I'll also see some customers and say more food for the dragon. It was a bit unreal when one kid turned out to be something of an expert on dragons. He actually asked me if it was a Chinese dragon or not. I also ask customers when the come out if they found our dungeon suitably nasty. I assure them that we do our very best to keep a well stocked and suitably nasty dungeon. Lastly, I remind customers that we don't loan out any of the items in the dungeon for personal use at home (shades of kinky Suzanne). The customers seem to enjoy the jokes. I continue to be surprised by how many customers check out the dungeon. Last night, we must've had around 100 people check it out. Unreal!

Various Stuff

At last! Globus has finally come out with their 2006 Europe tours. Me and my friend Harvey hope to go on one of their Scandanavia tours during the summer. I found out the price will be $3,278 with single supplement. That's about what I figured. That doesn't include airfare but I'm planning on using all those British Airways airmiles I've been collecting for years. If I can't get a free ticket with BA for the tour, I'm going to be furious. I'm still not thrilled with BA when they went and cut the value of my airmiles by half back in the summer of 2004. They said they were just getting the US program in line with everyone else. Up yours! I busted my butt to collect those airmiles and then you devalue them by half. I don't give a damn what your stinking excuse is, you're in the dog house with me after you do that. Not surprisingly, I haven't been working real hard to get airmiles with BA since.

On a different subject, I continue to wipe myself out on the elliptical machine. I burned another 993 calories on it today. I was shooting for a 1,000. I keep hitting a wall about the 22 or 23 minute (I do 47 minutes on it) mark. It's infuriating. Hopefully, it is just a matter of time to where I can keep on going and break the 1,000 calorie mark.

Also, I heard from the General Manager of the Baltimore Medieval Times. For those of you who don't know what a Medieval Times is, it is a very small indoor renaissance festival. It was actually created by folks who came up with the great idea of having a place where you could watch jousting, displays of falconry, fancy horseback riding, enjoy a finger food feast, and be able to buy various medieval type souvenirs all indoors. The Baltimore Medieval Times is a pretty nice place plus it's convenient. It's located at the Arundel Mills Mall where they have tons of parking and is right next to Interstate 295 which runs between Baltimore and Washington D.C. The reason I heard from the General Manager of the place is because of their loyalty program. What the loyalty program is is a program that rewards you for going to Medieval Times multiple times in the same year. You start getting rewards on your fourth and following visits. On your fourth visit, you get a free Royalty package upgrade which will save you between $8 and $10 per person. The Royalty upgrade in my opinion is worth it as you get to sit right on the edge of the arena. You get a much better view of the action then you would with the standard seat. You also get a DVD that tells you more about the show and some of the things that go on behind the scenes. It's an interesting DVD. You also get a little banner you can use to cheer your knight on. The Royalty package upgrade can also be bought for either $8 or $10 depending how you book your reservations.

For your fifth visit, you get a Medieval Times pewter coaster. The coaster is very sturdy (it is pewter) and can be useful at home. For the sixth visit, it apparently depends on the General Manager of the particular Medieval Times (there are eight of them currently according to their website www.medievaltimes.com). For the Baltimore one, their offering a free metallic hurricane glass or beer stein. The hurricane glasses look pretty cool. They look fairly close to goblets and they come in six different colors: red, silver, blue, green, gold, and black. I've collected all six. I plan to invite some friends to go in November. While I know the show storyline by heart (I've gone 7 times within the last year and a half), it is still fun, and a great place to take friends, family, and classmates.

Just FYI, I don't work at Medieval Times and I don't get jack tiddly for writing nicely about them. I like the place and they've treated me and my friends very kindly there. I've even bought the knighting package once. I have a picture of me bowing before King Alfonso the Magnificent wearing the knighting cloak and looking sufficiently stupid. It was a lot of fun and I'd recommend it to anyone who has a special occasion coming up. If you're really rolling in the dosh (British for money), get the sword and scabbard included. The sword is pretty cool and the scabbard which has nice green leather will keep the neighbors from getting nervous when you carry the sword outside your apartment or house. You wouldn't want them thinking you've gone psycho would you.